35+ Sample Website Proposals

What Is a Website Proposal?

A website proposal is basically like a business proposal, except website proposals are more focused on pitching websites. So before any website is published and available to users, a proper website proposal presentation is necessary as it deals with the entire plan from what to consider in the website, its graphic design, structured layout, pricing metrics of services, and more. And when the proposal itself appeals to a specific client, stakeholder, or developer, the proposed website will eventually be published.

Based on an August 6, 2021 survey, around 1.88 billion websites existed globally.

Why Is a Website Proposal Important?

Why is there a need to create a website proposal rather than publishing a site pronto, you might ask? The answer leads down to business. Publishing a website that won’t generate traffic, sales, and other aspects is as good as nothing. This is why a written contract or agreement between clients and service providers occurs in a web proposal. This way, clients get what they want, web designers submit the planned site as promised, costs of the project go according to the budget, etc.

Also, the most important reason website proposals are needed is how they set the product roadmap on how websites will run seamlessly as planned. For example, did you really think a successful social media network such as Facebook was just published from scratch? Behind the scenes, there were tons of trial and error, specific plans, and key decisions before it became successful. So to make sure any website you publish guarantees success or according to the client’s goals and objectives, website proposals come in handy before greenlighting that site.

The Seven Golden Elements of a Website Proposal

To make sure your website proposal is a detailed, organized, and well-structured document, the key is to divide the data into specific sections. And there are seven golden elements that make up an excellent website proposal. And these sections to include in the proposal are:

Introduction: A formal introductory statement marks the opening of your website proposal. So rather than bombarding your clients with overwhelming details, help them know what to expect first with an introduction. To introduce yourself and the proposal, make sure you tackle the key introductory elements. These are your name, the client’s name, the title of the website or project, and the submission date.Problem Overview: To expound on the proposed website or project, state the problem statement or overview. Clients can have interesting ideas but they might have overlooked possible issues and flaws that need to be solved. For example, a client’s business could have problems and opportunities being ignored. So you have to fully understand such problems until you can solve what their needs are in the first place.Solution Overview: As someone assigned to make the proposal, your goal is to sell the solution for the problem overview but shown in a way that you actually care for their needs. Make them trust you as you do your part. So after taking time in understanding the problem, studying the enterprise’s history, and interviewing stakeholders, form the best solutions to pitch to your clients. This is the challenging part because if your solution overview is dismal, then clients could reject you instantly. Explain your solution thoroughly and that you demonstrate how much you can meet the needs and standards of your client.Deliverables: On to the website project section of your proposal, expect to state the deliverables. In other words, outline the whole task list to deliver in accomplishing the project. A clear scope statement is highly welcome in the deliverables section. Since you have enough knowledge about a website for sure, your clients might have some missing elements of what to put on a website. A concrete example is a small business without an official logo yet. You would know that logos are part of marketing purposes in a website. So should you make or redesign a logo for them or not? The same goes for how the website’s SEO would score on the world wide web. Specify each deliverable then.Project Overview: After highlighting the deliverables, you proceed to the project or process overview to specify what to achieve even further. Focus on outlining how the execution process of the project goes. Besides enlisting the tasks and steps to achieve, you incorporate a work schedule or timeline as well. This part of the program arranges those tasks chronologically for easier guidance in the execution.Cost: One of the pivotal elements in the website proposal would be the cost. This part answers if your website is a success or a failure. So before even working on the proposal, don’t be shy in asking how much your client’s budget is. The business budget is necessary to know how to divide costs, estimate the pricing of products and services, etc. So it gets difficult to break down costs without a clear budget yet. To make clients understand the breakdown smoothly, be sure to include tabular calculations of the costs, labels if the rates are hourly or daily, and other specifications.Call to Action: The proper closing statement of a website proposal would be the call-to-action message. That means you encourage your client or target to respond whether it is to accept the website proposal and push through with the project, accept the proposal but with a few or major alterations, or wholly reject the offer. Don’t forget to insert your email address so they can just mail the response, add a link to the binding agreement or contract to headstart the website proposal, or rather send the proposal in a web page style so it will be interactive and convenient for the client to answer immediately.

How to Create a Well-Made Website Proposal

Indeed, a website proposal takes a lot of work. But it still marks the foundation of any website before being functional to users. So it only makes sense not to take a proposal for granted by ensuring you make a website proposal properly. And if you need a detailed guide on how to make a well-made website proposal, the steps are as follows:

Step 1: Do Research and Identify the Objectives

Do not create a website proposal yet without researching and identifying the goals and objectives in making one. Researching even helps you identify a website’s target audience, competitors, and other elements. Also, learning the objectives after interviewing clients or stakeholders and recognizing the goals to accomplish make the process of crafting the proposal a lot easier. The data you gathered will be used as a reference on what to write in the proposal itself. And the data reports already let you create a draft of how the proposal could be like.

Step 2: Use a Template as Your Website Proposal Example

Sample.net has a grand collection of the best website proposal examples that you could use as your template to create website proposals shortly. Check out each sample so you can take advantage of premade templates and skip the need to make one from scratch. What’s special about these samples is you can add data, edit the content, and produce your work anytime. Explore each sample template’s editable features and optimize it however you want. Give it a test by downloading any of the sample website proposals above!

Step 3: Insert the Seven Elements of a Website Proposal

Of course, you already know that there are seven golden elements that complete a website proposal. And those seven sections must be found in your crafted website proposal as well. So from the introduction down to the call to action, you should add them to your work for a solid proposal. Also, you can add more elements that you think are helpful and relevant to your website proposal. For example, you add an executive summary right after the introduction to explain the project shortly before heading to the specifics. Or perhaps, you attach some images or links of your best works or websites already published so clients get to see your work portfolio. If you can impress them from the portfolio alone, expect to get accepted in no time.

Step 4: Maintain a Stasis Between How Detailed and Brief the Proposal Is

A website proposal should be detailed in a way that it tackles all the essential information about the project. However, it doesn’t need to be a lengthy letter where a bunch of unnecessary words and unimportant details were written. Just like a brief report, you have to keep the website proposal as succinct as possible. If you can explain everything shortly and concisely, then why keep it lengthy? The key is to balance the content from how detailed and specific it is.

Step 5: Practice an Easy-to-Follow Form of Writing

Another significant tip is to make your writing easy to follow. That means your words and sentences would be simply understandable to the public, or specifically your clients. Simple English already works as long as the target audience gets the gist and message of the proposal promptly. Also, you can keep your writing easy to comprehend if the details are organized, just like how you divided the data into seven sections. And most importantly, don’t forget to observe a clear format from the margins, texts, and other customizable features.

Step 6: Evaluate the Proposal as a Whole

Lastly, conduct a heavy evaluation before submitting your website proposal to your target. So is the spelling, grammar, and complete thought stellar already for the entire proposal? Besides the format, content, and overall message, you also have to evaluate the success rate of your project as well. For example, is the client’s budget enough for lots of websites to manage rather than just a one-page website? Other facets to evaluate would be the availability of resources, the reliability of the pricing system, and more. Submit the proposal only when you are confident with everything. Then, wait patiently for the client’s response.

FAQs

What are the best steps in the project overview of a website proposal?

The steps and processes to insert in a website proposal’s project overview depend on your goals and objectives. But generally, these commendable steps are research, wireframing, site mapping, initial design, development, content management system (CMS) configuration, testing, and training.

What makes up a great website?

Great websites are those that contain responsive web pages, observe rigid protection towards security, feature interactive content, use accessible HTML, have easy-to-edit web pages, and track web interaction or traffic conveniently.

How many web pages does a standard website have?

Most commercial or business websites have around five to seven web pages. These are the home page, about page, services page, contact page, 404 page, popup, and the header or footer.

Whether you are a highly creative designer, a skilled planner, or a savvy developer in the web design department, or any site-related business in general, the make-it-or-break-it point all leads down to how excellent you are in selling the planned website. Is your idea interesting enough to pitch to clients and stakeholders that it would create a lucrative business in the long run? That’s what you need to prove in a website proposal. Gather all ideas, designs, and plans by organizing the data into sections until an effective proposal ensues. And that is just what you can accomplish using the sample website proposal templates in this article. Create yours now!